AIIB delegation tours Egypt’s NAC, reviews cooperation chances

CAIRO – 13 December 2018: A delegation from the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) toured Wednesday, Dec. 12 Egypt’s New Administrative Capital, as part of a program organized by Egypt’s Finance Ministry.

The tour included the government district, residential neighborhoods, roads and bridges, the Parliament, the administrative area, the opera site in the city of culture and arts, business district, electricity and water stations serving the administrative capital, a statement issued by the Ministry of Finance said.

During the visit, the delegation reviewed opportunities for enhancing cooperation with Egypt as part of the efforts exerted to strengthen cooperation among the 87 member countries of the AIIB, including Egypt. The delegation also presented the financing opportunities offered by the AIIB for private sector institutions.

President of the AIIB Jin Liqun praised the establishment of the Administrative Capital by self-financing through the sale of lands to investors to maximize the value of these lands.He also affirmed that the coming period will witness cooperation in many national projects, including the new metro project that will connect the administrative capital with central parts of Cairo.

Ahmed Zaki Abdeen, chairperson of the New Administrative Capital Company for Urban Development, called on the delegation of the AIIBto cooperate in building a waste treatment plant in Egypt’s new capital.

Spanning over an area of 170,000 feddans (176,460 acres), the new capital is set to include 20 residential areas expected to accommodate 6.5 million people and a 650-kilometer road network. The capital will include an international airport and an electric train to link it with the 10th of Ramadan and El-Salam cities.

It will feature 1,250 mosques and churches, a 5,000-seat conference center, nearly 2,000 schools and colleges, over 600 medical facilities, and a park that is projected to be the world’s largest.

It has been confirmed that the New Administrative Capital will include six international universities from the United States, Britain, Hungary, Canada, Sweden and France, said Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research Khaled Abdel Ghaffar early November 2017.

This was during the International Education Conference held in the United Kingdom on Nov.1, 2017, entitled “Cross Boundary Education in Egypt and the Chances of Investment in the Higher Education.”